Delta Plus still 'variant of interest', 40 cases in India so far: Govt sources

Around 40 cases of the Delta plus variant classified as a variant of concern VOC have been detected sporadically in Maharashtra Kerala and Madhya Pradesh the Union Health Ministry said on WednesdayDelta variant as well as all Delta sublineages including Delta plus are classified as VOC it saidAs of now among the samples sequenced 45000 in India Delta plus variant AY1 has been observed sporadically in Maharashtra Kerala and Madhya Pradesh with around 40 cases identified so far and no significant increase in prevalence the ministry said in its statementThese three states have been advised to strengthen surveillance and take appropriate public health measuresAfter the report of AY1 by the Public Health England PHE on June 11 retrospective analysis of samples revealed the first occurrence of this lineage from a sample collected from Maharashtra The sample was collected on April 5As of June 18 205 sequences of AY1 lineage was detected worldwide with the USA and the UK having over half of the known cases the statement saidINSACOG had recently identified a viral variant delta B16172 This viral variant has also been seen in nine other countries of the worldINSACOG is an Indian consortium of 28 labs established by the Government of India to carry out genome sequencing of the virus causing the Covid19 pandemicThe World Health Organisation has introduced a classification as VOC variant of concern and VOI variant of interest with the evolution of several variants around the globeDelta variant as well as all Delta sublineages including Delta Plus are classified as VOC the statement saidThe Indian SARSCoV2 Genomic Consortia INSACOGreported the evolution of Delta plus variant B16172 K417N lineage of SARSCoV2 called as B161721 AY1The Delta plus variant B161721 AY1 is characterized by the K417N mutation in spike protein the statement saidThe spike protein aids the virus to gain receptormediated entry into human cells K417N corresponds to the change of amino acid lysine K to asparagine N at the 417th position of spike protein There are other Delta plus variants with other mutationsThe AY1 is the most wellknown but these are not identical A second clade found in sequences uploaded to GISAID from the USA is now designated AY2 but is not seen in India yet the statement saidAll Delta sublineages are treated as a variant of concern VOC although properties of AY1 are still being investigated Currently the variant frequency of AY1 is low in India Cases with AY1 have been mostly reported from nine countries of Europe Asia and America the ministry statement statedThe SARSCoV2 virus causing Covid19 disease is mutating continuously with increase in the number of infections both across the world and in IndiaMutations help the virus to become either more transmissible or more virulent or both With time these mutations known as Variants of Interest VOI increase in frequency in the selected population and are considered then as VOCThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever